Western Side-blotched Lizard

Description:

A small (1.5 - 2.5 inches long from snout to vent (3.8 - 6.3 cm)) brownish gray lizard with small smooth granular scales on the back, larger scales on the head and limbs, a gular fold, a long thin tail and a dark blue-black mark on the sides of the chest behind the front limbs, which gives this lizard its name.. This mark is sometimes faint or absent. Color is brown, gray, yellowish, or black, with dark blotches, spots, and sometimes stripes. Often there is a double row of dark spots or wedges on the back, edged with white on the rear. The underside is whitish to gray and mostly unmarked. The throat is mottled with dark and light. Females are blotched on top with brown and white, often with stripes, and have a less well-defined blotch on the sides. They have no blue speckling, and no color on the throat." - California Herps

Habitat:

Blue Sky Ecological Reserve trailhead. "In California, this subspecies is found throughout the southern deserts and coastal region, north through the central valley and coast ranges to just south of the Bay Area, extending northward to the Sacramento River, and on Santa Cruz, Anacapa, San Clemente, and Catalina Ialands. Its range outside California continues into western Arizona, extreme southwestern Utah, and southern Nevada. The species as a whole ranges north into central Washington, east into west Texas, and south into Mexico, including all of Baja California. Prefers open rocky areas with scattered vegetation, including the edges of sandy washes. Utilizes a wide variety of habitats, including hardpan, sandy, rocky, and loamy areas grown with chaparral, scattered trees, grass, shrubs, and cactus. From below sea level to around 9,000 ft. (2,700 m)" - California Herps

Notes:

"Three subspecies of Uta stansburiana are sometimes shown occuring in California, including U. s. stansburiana - Northern Side-blotched Lizard, which is shown to range east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Inyo and Mono counties. " - California Herps